Written By Srimathi Mani on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 | 1:36 PM

A staple in my fridge these days are the three chutneys. We love chaat in our family and love to have pain puri and bhel anytime. Its very simple to make the chutney and store because it gives you the option to have chaat any time. The mint chutney is highly versatile. It helps out with making mint rice or when mixed with cream cheese it becomes a flavorful spread for sandwiches or wraps. Garlic Chutney is awesome as a base to make any Indian side dish that requires chillies and garlic. The sweet chutney can be used as a dip for samosa and chips.

1. Add the juice to the blender then the cilantro, mint chillies, garlic, ginger, salt and blend into smooth chutney. Add Water to pure it.
Note: The chutney will remain green and fresh because of the lemon juice.

1. Place all 3 saucepans on the stove. Add broken pieces of Jaggery to one with enough water to cover it allow for the jaggery to dissolve.

2. In the second saucepan add 2 cups of water and the tamarind and allow for that to boil for 8 minutes to remove raw smell of tamarind. Using the colander strain the tamarind juice. Add the jaggery liquid. Allow it to boil on medium.
( Note: Make sure to filter the jaggery liquid because it might have some residue in the bottom of the liquid)

3. In the third saucepan add dates and water and allow for the dates to cook for 5 minutes. Cool and blend the dates. Add the dates paste to the jaggery and tamarind water . Add salt, chill powder, cumin seeds and allow it to simmer for 4 minutes.

4. Cool and store in airtight container in fridge or freezer.

Spicy Garlic Chutney:

Time: less than 5 minutes

Gadgets:
BlenderIngredients:
Garlic - 5 Pods
Salt
Dry Red Chillies - 4 ( add more if you like spice or if the chilli is not very spicy)
Sugar - a pinch

Preparation:Time: less than 5 minutes
1. Add all the ingredients to the blender and make a smooth chutney. Store in airtight containers in the fridge or freezer.

I usually freeze half what I make and the other half I keep in air tight glass containers in the coldest part of the fridge. Of all the chutneys the sweet will last a long time. The mint needs to be used up because there is water in the chutney. The garlic stays 3 weeks for me. I don't make too much of the garlic chutney as you need very little. Also I use them up fast in my household so I keep making them every time I run out of these chutneys. I have also seen some people make the chutney very thick and store them in ice trays, cover and freeze them. When needed they thaw and use. I hope I have answered your question.